via Eurogamer


Activision is planning to release Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on 9th November in Europe for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

A senior brand manager let the news slip during a press event this week, and although Activision UK representatives could only confirm "winter" the view from retail is that this is the date for which they are gunning.

CoD4 has won all sorts of plaudits since its unveiling earlier this year, not only having abandoned World War II as a setting in favour of something a bit more contemporary, but also having improved itself visually to a huge extent with pretty spectacular animation and a narrowly focused palette that helps achieve a much more realistic overall visual effect.

You can try and translate that into real words in your head by browsing our Call of Duty 4 gamepages, which host various trailers and recent news of a multiplayer best test for Xbox 360.

Look out for more on the game soon - hopefully including some more impressions from Games Convention in Leipzig, which runs from 22nd to 26th August. ...

New from Play Asia



Explore towns and interact with people in the real world while fighting action-packed battles in the virtual "Wave World." Enemy encounters take place on a three by five grid in a 3D perspective, where players use a portfolio of Battle Cards that each have distinct attributes and attack powers. As the story progresses, players will acquire additional cards to build an arsenal that reflects their personal strategy.

Capcom's Nintendo DS™ RPG Mega Man Star Force is available today as US release version, shipping as Leo, Pegasus and Dragon edition at US$ 29.90 each only.

Game features:

Three stellar versions call upon the power of the elements - Ice Pegasus, Fire Leo and Green Dragon
Two co-existing worlds - explore the real world in human form and transform into Mega Man to maneuver the virtual "Wave World"
Cyber battles feature an immersive third person view as players engage enemies in a 3x5 battle grid
Each game version offers a unique powered-up transformation of Mega Man based on the respective elemental power and can unleash a special "Star Force Big Bang" attack
Battle Cards based on elemental attributes (fire, water, wood, electricity), each a part of a power chain where one is stronger or weaker than another
Best Combo - combine Battle Cards of the same type to unleash consecutive attacks
Dynamic Brother Band system - add up to six friends to help each other in battles, share Battle Cards, receive stat boosts and other special benefits
Each character has their own customizable Personal Page where Battle Cards and information can be viewed and traded with friends to compare progress ...

via Eurogamer


Sony has released JapanStudio's Piyotama puzzle game onto the PlayStation Store in the US, which means you can get it too if you've got the ability to pay for things in Monopoly money.

Priced at USD 2.99 (sadly there's no demo), Piyotama is a falling eggs puzzler where the round eggs bundle together in a Puzzle Bobble-style cluster at the bottom of the screen and the idea is to make diagonal lines of the same colour.

You can slide any individual line left or right and change the order of the three blocks on each end to try and influence the diagonals, or you can shake the Sixaxis pad up and down to try and jumble up the eggs. When four are aligned, a waggle also serves to speed up the hatching.

There are single-player and multi-player modes on offer and global leaderboards, and it all runs in 1080p - although we can't say this one is exactly hammering the RSX chip.

Expect a full write-up of Piyotama at some point in the future. ...

via Eurogamer


With the game due out in a matter of weeks, Sony has begun the countdown to Heavenly Sword's release by kicking off an animated series of back-story shorts on PlayStation Network and the Internet.

You can watch the first (Legend of the Sword) on the Sony US blog or download a 720p HD version (147MB) from the PlayStation Store. Another four will follow before the game's 12th September US release.

SCEA marketing manager Mark Valledor, blogging about the vid, says "we took a page out of 'Clone Wars', because that series kicked ass", also drawing attention to a parallel "making of" video series that focuses on various bits of production. A video related to that is also on the PS Store.


Trailer at Sony's official blog here ...

News from Play Asia



features
WWII Combat the way you want it - Play as a covert operative, Army Ranger, or British Commando depending on your style of play – sneaking, sniping, or guns blazing.
Authentic WWII Vehicles – Yours for the Taking - Use any of the vehicles you find on the battlefield to accomplish your mission. Jeeps, the Opelblitz, Kubelwagon, Panzer, Tiger, T34 and Sherman Tanks all ready for your command.
Not Just Another Grunt - You’re the Victor - Unlike other games where you’re just another cog in the war machine, you are the key to success on the battlefield – you are present at the Hour of Victory.
Exclusive Xbox 360 Title - WWII brought to the Xbox 360 with Unreal Engine 3 generation graphical splendor and exhilarating Multiplayer action for Xbox Live.

description
Hour of Victory allows you to play a key role in the pivotal and cinematic battles from the European and North African theaters of World War II, using the skills and gameplay style you choose. Sneak into enemy territory as a covert operative, storm the gates as a British Commando, or snipe from afar as an Army Ranger - each character's unique attributes will be needed for the fulfillment of the overall objective. Only with all these skills working closely together will you be able to say that you helped define the Hour of Victory. ...

via Eurogamer


Good news, Virtual Console f-- Sorry chaps, random battle. Dun dun dun. Whack. Cool. Sorry about that. I was just about to te-- How inconvenient! Another random battle! Let me just sort this out. Right. Well anyway, this week's Virtual Console update is headli-- Oh for the love of Mike! This week's-- STOP THAT. Thi-- Breath of Fire II! It's Breath of Fi-- Oh I give up.

Also on Virtual Console is Galaga '90, a 1989 (obviously) TurboGrafx-16 version of the classic arcade shoot-'em-up you'd have to be pretty desperate to still be playing, unless I'm missing something. Frequently the case with retro wotsits, mind you. Thirdly and finally, Virtual Console fans in Europe can download Volleyball for the NES.

Volleyball goes for 500 Wii points (GBP 3.75 / EUR 5.00), Galaga '90 will set you back 600 (GBP 4.50 / EUR 6.00) and - dare we risk it? - Capcom's turn-based RPG Breath of Fire II for SNES demands 800 of your Wii points. Which is GBP 6.00. Or EUR 8.00. Phew! That wasn't so bad in the e-- Right I'm playing something else. ...

Welcome to this week's Movie/Music news roundup, containing all new Japanese and Hong Kong Video and Music releases from this week listed at Play-Asia.com. Around 500 new items are covered in this week, including new J-Pop, Anime as well as Japanese, Hong Kong and Western movie releases and much more.

Here's a summary of all new releases that were published between Saturday, August 4th and Friday, August 10th. If some specific item that you are looking for is missing, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service with your request.


J-Pop Music releases (149)
ENKA Music releases (35)
Anime Soundtracks & Drama CDs (37)
Video Game Soundtracks (5)
Hong Kong Version Music releases (6)
Blu-Ray Disc Movies (6)
HD DVD Movies (8)
Hong Kong Version Movie releases (18)
Japanese Movies (13)
Non-Japanese Movies / Japanese Version (204)
Anime DVD releases (24)
J-Pop DVD releases (15)
Misc. Japanese DVD releases (4)
Idol DVD (3)


Full info at Play Asia ...

via Eurogamer


Scans from the latest issue of Japanese weekly Famitsu show off some new sections of Super Mario Galaxy, including a desert world and a haunted house - where Mario himself becomes a Boo ghost.

Screenshots also show Mario squaring up against (well, running away from) a giant mole boss that's dragging itself angrily out of the ground, while another shot on the same page sees him transformed into a bee.

You'll probably want to see for yourself - in which case you should spirit yourself across to the NeoGAF thread hosting the scans and join in the frenzy.

Super Mario Galaxy is due out later this year. You can what we've made of it so far by checking in with our Super Mario Galaxy gamepage, which also hosts all the news, trailers and shots you could want. Apart from those scanned ones, obviously. ...

via joystiq

Big N is giving Samus the loving treatment she deserves this month, with all of August being redubbed the "Month of Metroid." First off, there's a new Metroid Prime 3: Corruption preview channel on your Wii, where you can see some trailers for the game as well as gameplay videos. You can find that in Wii Ware, for all your promotional needs. That said, if you're the sort of Wii owner who hasn't bought a game since April (read: most of you) then you're probably not going to need much convincing.

This month will also bring the long-awaited Virtual Console releases of Metroid (for 500 points) on August 13 and Super Metroid (800 points), considered by some to be the greatest game of all time, on August 20. As you've probably already guessed, this is all leading up the the reason for the season: The release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on August 27. Now go, little one. Hang your ice beam over the fire and try once again to get your lady friend to put on the armor you bought her as you insist that it's part of the holiday spirit. ...